RCB Bank, which is co-owned by Russia’s state-owned VTB and Otkritie Financial Corporation, said that it entered an agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Cypriot government that will allow it to pump a further €40m into the Cypriot economy.

“These €40m translate to competitive lending solutions for new investments, characterised by a longer repayment period, beneficial lending rates and favourable terms to small and medium size enterprises, which are the backbone of the Cypriot economy,” RCB said in an emailed statement on Friday.

The agreement comes on top of a previous arrangement which allowed RCB to borrow €20m from EIB for the same purpose “at beneficial lending rates,” the Limassol-based lender said.

“We sincerely thank the EIB for the extension of our cooperation and remain committed in providing SMEs and Cypriot enterprises with the much-needed and competitive financing they require in order to facilitate their investment plans in Cyprus. Cooperations like these are crucial in helping the real economy of Cyprus to continue growing and thus reinstate our country to the position it deserves,” RCB’s chief executive officer Kiril Zimarin was quoted as saying.

Source: Cyprus Business Mail